Another beautiful day and another Super Side Trip from the Selkirk Loop. We drove west from Farragut State Park to Spirit Lake, then north to Priest River and Priest Lake. Our first stop was at the Albeni Falls Dam. This hydropower, Army Corp of Engineer dam was built in 1955. The Albeni Falls was replaced by the dam to generate electricity. Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Pondoray), literally translates "hanging ears." This name was given to the area Indians by French Canadians. The lake flows into the Pend Oreille River, passing the dam and then on to the "mighty" Columbia River and out to the Pacific. Lake Pend Oreille at 68 miles long, has over 226 miles of shoreline and has a maximum depth of 1,237 feet.
We stopped for lunch at Priest Lake State Park and "enjoyed" a MRE (meals ready to eat) complements of an ROTC group who stopped for a tour of the Museum at the Brig. Needless to say, we did have an early dinner that evening.
Priest Lake State Park lies just 30 miles south of the Canadian Border. It is nestled deep below the crest of the Selkirk Mountains. It was very quiet when we stopped by there Tuesday, the day after Memorial Weekend.
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| Priest Lake |
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| Indian Creek feeding Priest Lake was fast flowing due to the heavy winter snowmelt. |
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